Li Syaoran
by Rosabell
Summary: Semi-AU. Touya and Yukito are medical students at a hospital. They've been given an assignment from the psychiatry department to care for mentally ill patients. Yukito's patient is a very interesting one, and soon Yue found out that there is still somethi
1. Default Chapter

Li Syaoran

Chapter 1

" Alright, I have a test in surgery, test in internal medicine, test in oriental medicine...that's about it. Wow, there's only three tests tomorrow!" Yukito looked over his notes. " Oh, never mind. Test in dermatology."  
" I don't have any tests tomorrow. Half of the professors were absent this entire week for some reason." Touya sat down.

The two medical students looked at their lunch for a minute.  
" I don't want to know what this is." Yukito muttered.  
" Me neither." Touya answered. " Say, the professor seemed very happy yesterday. She said something about a project beginning today."  
" Which one, the psychiatry one?" Yukito asked. " Hai. She said something about giving us patients for about a month and to do some research."  
" We can research on insanity." Touya laughed. " She probably would give us an easy one."  
" Hai. We're only seventeen." Yukito agreed. " I don't know how you got in, Touya. I mean seriously. The only reason you are in medical school is because you jumped from third grade to fifth grade when you were eight. And this college has a medical school, so you take it at the same time. I got in purely because I got in."  
" And I didn't?" Touya scowled. " Nice try, Yuki-san. You need to take an entrance exam no matter how you got to your grade."  
" Hai, right." Yukito rolled his eyes, and Touya elbowed him playfully. The boys chuckled heartily, and made their way over to the garbage to unload their lunch.

  
  
" Alright." Professor Wakatoshi. " Today we are going to begin a very interesting project. You already saw how mentally illed patients behave, but today you're going to have a chance to actually privately communicate with a patient. Remember to record the behavior of the patient, and if you can," She eyed Yukito specifically, " You might point out some strong traits that can help cure the patient." She took out a package filled with paper.  
" Tsihuan!" She called.

" What are those things?" Yukito asked.  
" I think those are the info of the patients we'll be meeting." Touya answered.  
" Oh..."  
" Yukito!" 

Yukito jerked. He hurriedly got out of his chair and went to accept the papers. He went back to his seat.  
" Who do you have?" Touya asked.

Yukito blinked in surprise. " Li Syaoran!"

  
  
" Kuso! That's a tough patient you have, Yukito-san!" Touya gaped in shock as he read the notice after school. 

Everyone knows the boy. He was a ten year old that was forced into the hospital about a few weeks ago, and had been raising hellery ever since. There was nearly no possible way to cure him. His background was vague, but somewhere along the line he was traumatized. His actual name was Jinyu, but the doctors and interns called him Syaoran, which was Chinese for ' Little Wolf', because he was more or less a wild animal.

Yukito looked at the sheet and began to read aloud to Touya as they sat at their own beds at the dorm.

" Name: Li Jinyu. Age: Nine-okay, so he's not ten. Birthday: July thirteenth, no wonder. Blood type: O. Yadda yadda yadda. Here we go. Subject's father had been noted to be abusive and addicted to drugs and alcohol. It says that he has been abused every since he was three...had been emotionally abused, physically abused, and se-never mind. Delusional, fearful of physical contact, and dumbness? Well, he screams all the time. Steals too, but mostly food and...books? Sometimes he steals coins...for the snack machines? This is one smart kid, but he's in the private room now, because he always picks fights...or gets into fights, somehow. Knows martial arts, has strange abilities, such as creating...rain. Never talks, well, it already says that he's dumb. Good lord, what kind of nurse wrote this?"  
" Looks like he has magical powers." Touya suggested. " Like you and the kaijuu."  
" Hai." Yukito agreed. " but normally, psychotics don't have magical powers. How odd. Kind of sad, actually. He's traumatized."  
" Did you see how the professor looked at you when she mentioned pointing out strong traits?" Touya reminded his friend. " That kid has stumped everyone in the entire directory. You ought to try hard, I mean, you're so smart and all."

Yukito grimaced. " Ano, yeah, sure..."

  
  
The first time Yukito saw Syaoran the boy was huddled in the corner; it was something he was famous for. He was stringing something between his fingers. It was a thread of silk. When Yukito entered the room, Syaoran clutched the silk thread tightly and huddled even more, his eyes squeezing shut.

Yukito pondered on whether he should write thie reaction down, then decided to put this until later. His job was to introduce himself, to actually form a relationship with his patient.  
" Jinyu..." Yukito began, softly, letting his voice glide as smoothly as possible and not reveal the nervousness he truly felt. " My name is Tsukishiro Yukito..."

Syaoran's eyes opened immediately and looked at him in fright.

Yukito was puzzled. That was not a look of a menacing animal. That was a look of a frightened one. That was not a look of a thief either. The boy was afraid of him.

_ Well,_ Yukito thought to himself. _If he really does act like an animal, then maybe I should approach him like one._ Thinking for a minute he moved his hands into his pocket, careful not to make any sudden actions, and pulled out a piece of chocolate. Holding out the candy, with his palm up, he offered it to the child.

At the action the boy hissed, like a cat.

_ Now that was one of a menacing animal._ Yukito thought to himself. He crouched down and remained with his hand outstretched, chocolate in his hand for a minute, before withdrawing. The boy obviously didn't want it.

Then to his surprise, the boy lowered his head and began to cry.

_ Has abrupt emotional transitions..._

" Don't cry little one." Yukito murmured. " I won't hurt you."

The boy continued to cry. His head snapped up as Yukito advanced, and he cowered into the corner more and more as Yukito came closer. Yukito slowed, bent down, and wiped away some of the tears from the child's cheeks.

Syaoran blinked. He had never been touched that way before, He stared into the strange man's eyes, and soon lost track of everything. Those eyes were grey, so deep and mysterious...

Yukito avoided Syaoran's eyes because he was afraid of their power. One doesn't need to see the eye to know what it is. Those eyes were magnificent, a pure gold lined with green. No wonder he was called Jinyu.

But in those five minutes, Yukito had already established a connection with the boy. He remained in the room for about thirty minutes, just patting the boy, letting him get use to his voice, his hands, his touch. And when Yukito was stroking the child's sweaty hair, the boy's breath deepened to the point where he fell asleep.

  
  
" How did it go?" Touya asked.  
" It was..." Yukito blinked. " I earned his trust...rather easily."  
" Of course. You're Yue. You can hypnotize."  
" _I _can hypnotize! You should have seen the kid's eyes! _I _nearly got hypnotized! Then I wouldn't be here to tell it! But the poor child...he's actually a very nice kid. Fell asleep on me that half an hour."  
" He _what?!_"  
" He fell asleep."  
" Whoa, you're good. You should become a psychiatrist."  
" Iie, I want to be the director of the surgery department."  
" But you're so good!"  
" Just with him. The kid has moon magic, Touya. He's naturally attracted to me."

Touya suddenly began laughing. Yukito scowled.  
" You're _so_ immature!"  
" Hahaha!"

At that, Yukito couldn't contain his own laughter, and soon everyone in the cafeteria was wondering what was happening to the two of them.

  
  
The next day Yukito finished with the tests and went to look on his ' patient'. The guards were holding both of the young child's arms and the boy was screaming like an animal, tears pouring down his cheeks. This was the child that Yukito had heard from the rumors, but ever since that first day Yukito already had a different opinion about him.  
" What happened?" he asked a fellow peer.  
" Kid busted into the lab." The student answered. " Spilled all sorts of acids and alcohol all over the place. You should see that place-and he spilled blood too. Now they're going to restrain him."  
" Don't!" Yukito cried before he could stop himself. " I'll handle this." He told the guards. The guards looked at him uncertainly. Syaoran blinked and stretched his neck out towards Yukito, silently begging him for help.  
" Ai, Jinyu, you naughty child!" Yukito scolded gently. " Come here, come here, let him go you two. Come here kiddo. There's no need to be afraid."

Syaoran ran into the older student's arms without hesitation, wrapping his little arms around the other's body and burying his small head into the other's chest. Yukito smiled awkwardly. He looked up to see his professor standing with the chairman of the psychiatry department. They were muttering something and the chairman was smiling.

" There, calm down now, kiddo." Yukito murmured soothingly. " Why do you always run around, getting yourself into trouble? Just remember, don't go into those rooms, alright? Just stay where you are. Maybe if you fake it well enough they'll let you go. Come on, don't cry anymore." Yukito wiped away the tears. " Come along." He held the boy by his hand and gently led him to the room. " Come along."

But Syaoran didn't want to go. He reluctantly followed, sometimes pulling back.  
" Come on. I'm coming with you." Yukito persuaded gently. " Come on."  
" Iie." Syaoran sobbed. " Iie..."

Yukito stopped. _The kid could talk!_  
  
Syaoran looked hopefully at him.  
" Come on." Yukito sighed, lifting the boy up suddenly. Bad move. Syaoran shrieked, kicking wildly. Yukito calmed him down and carried the exhausted boy to the room, and laid him down gently on the bed.

" He isn't very strong." Yukito whispered to himself as the boy's breathing deepened. " He tires easily. Then why do the guards spread rumors about him hurting people?"

  
  
" Ohayo Yukito-san!" Sakura smiled as Touya walked out of the kitchen.  
" Yuki!" He called. " Kaijuu's been waiting for ya all morning. Hurry up before the stuffed animal eats everything I cooked."

Yukito laughed as the little winged animal appeared, scowling.  
" He wants to starve me to death!" The guardian beast grumbled.  
  
Yukito looked at the Kinomoto family, with a healthy mistress, healthy brother, and a guardian of healthy appetite. He secretly praised himself. He was so glad that he didn't have Syaoran for a master. 


	2. Chapter 2

Li Syaoran

Chapter 2

" Urgh." Yukito took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes.  
" What happened this time?" Touya asked.  
" Let's start with you. You haven't told me anything about yours. Was it Mariko?"  
" Hai. She's fine. Yours is more famous. What happened?"

Yukito sighed. " Kuso. One would think that someone like Li Syaoran would be more than just traumatized. He's not a gaki, Touya. He's a child. He behaves like a child, thinks like a child, changes his moods like a child-all these things are perfectly normal. But he gets frightened so easily, it's hard to keep patience when dealing with him."  
" Alright. Now with all this sweet talk, tell me exactly what happened." Touya was so eager to hear that he was practically jumping up and down on his chair in the cafeteria.  
" Well," Yukito bit into a nameless chunk of meat, " I went in there and the first thing is," He looked over his notes. " So I didn't remember wrong. He talked, Touya. He said, ' Hi Angel.'"

Touya choked and quickly drank some soda to calm his nerves.

" His voice is actually very sweet. A little rough from the daily screaming." Yukito chuckled sadly. " And he was very happy to see me."

" I can imagine." Touya answered after he swallowed.  
" And then of course, I asked him why he called me angel. He started smiling, as if he knew something that I didn't. He answered, " I know who you are. You're not Yukito. You're someone named Yue."

Touya's eyes widened. Yukito nodded at his reaction.  
" Of course, I had the same reaction." Yukito continued. " I was pretty much dumb by then. Syaoran pulled from behind him a peony."  
" A peony?"  
" Hai. Syaoran said it was his favorite." Yukito held it out. It was pink, the flower, and rather fresh."  
" He's not allowed in the gardens, is he?" Touya asked.  
" Iie." Yukito answered. " Touya, this isn't just any kid. He has powerful magic. Otherwise, how would he have sensed me? He created this flower out of that magic. His father didn't just beat him and scream at him and force him onto his bed-he used magic to break his spirit. Somehow Syaoran learned some of the magic without knowing it and tried to create this flower, but you see how pink it is? It came from Syaoran's blood. His blood stained it, gave it life. Syaoran is one of the Life Idols, one that is still a young child. His father was undoubtedly a Death Idol that had captured him."

" You got me lost at that last one." Touya answered slowly. " tell me, what are life and death idols?"

Yukito sighed. He leaned back, his notes on his lap, and began to explain.

" There are thirteen Living Idols and thirteen Dead Idols. They each split up into six and seven. In this realm, there are seven Living Idols controlling it, and six Dead Idols. There's another realm where there are six Living Idols and seven Dead Idols. They form the basis of life and death, and control the cycle of the Yin Yang. 

The difference with Idols and sorcerors are that they control life and death. Sorcerors like you, Sakura, Clow Reed-they cannot summon the forces. They can summon light, they can summon dark, sun, moon, and all the elements, but these two forces they were not allowed and do not have the power. So people like Clow Reed cannot create any kind of life, big or small."  
" But what about the flower card?" Touya asked. " Sakura's flower card?"  
" That was designed to bring another flower here, not to create a totally new one." Yukito answered, slightly unhappy. " Not even Clow Reed could do what the Life Idols can do. And as for Death, you can mortally wound someone, but whether that person or thing dies is beyond your control."

Touya was silent for a minute. " So now that you know this much about the kid, what are you going to do?"  
" Try to get him out of the hospital." Yukito answered. " More importantly, to get him back to where he belongs. He doesn't deserve to live like this. To think, he's ten years old. Ten years is very short for a god!"

Touya was silent for a long moment. " Do you suppose," He began, " That Sakura and her cards could help?"  
" I don't know." Yukito answered. " If it's possible you can try and find out when Tomoeda Elementary has a half day or a whole day off. And then we can have those two meet. You can ask Eriol to come too."  
" Alright, so that's settled." Touya looked at Yukito.   
" He's lonely." Yukito whispered.  
" This has become more than just a school assignment, eh Yue?"  
" Of course it has." Yukito answered. " It always was."

  
  
" So..." Sakura and Eriol looked at each other. " You want us to come on Wednesday to help this Li person?"  
" Hai." Touya answered. " For Yue anyway."  
" Li Jinyu." Eriol blinked thoughtfully. " I've heard of him. But I thought he was one of the Life Idols."  
" He is."  
" Nani?" Eriol rubbed his glasses. " Then what is he doing in a lunatic asylum?"  
" Ano...I don't know-wait." Touya cleared his thoughts rapidly. " Somehow Yue thinks he was captured by a Death Idol. That guy abused him, you have a ten year old in a lunatic asylum."

Eriol frowned. " That's bad."  
" Hoe?"  
" That's really really bad. We're going!" Eriol jumped up. " Good heavens! There are only supposed to be twenty six idols! Where did Syaoran come from? I have to see this for myself. Sakura-san, bring your cards. We're going to visit this stranger."

  
  
Syaoran looked around in the hallway. The doctors had stopped walking and stared at him. He blinked, withdrawing a little. Yukito had told him not to go anywhere unless he had been told he was allowed to, but he felt so sick.

There was no one to trust here.

Frantically, the young one searched for Yue in his mind. Yue was far far away. He couldn't help him.

A wave of dizziness over came him. The weak child toppled over.  
" Oh!" Cried several voices, as they quickly went over to him. Hands circled around his shoulders...

Hands.

Hands!

With a weak cry, Syaoran beated off the hands. The hands were so quick, it felt so familiar. He tried to crawl away, but stopped, because his stomach thought otherwise.

With the last of his remaining strength, Syaoran felt the bitter taste well up in his mouth and he opened his mouth for it to escape, unable to hold it back longer. An arm circled around his waist. He wailed in panic, recognizing the action from so many years of torment, but his wail was suffocated into a gurgle. There was a black fogginess in front of his eyes, so black he could barely see the liquid on the floor. It was clear, bitter and sour. It was acidic water.

" Ay! No wonder he steals food! He doesn't eat his lunch!" Cried someone, a woman, perhaps. Syaoran started crying. He was so tired, but why wouldn't his stomach stop?  
" Tsukishiro!" Someone yelled. Syaoran's vomiting ceased and he tilted his head slightly at the name. Tsukishiro. Tsukishiro. That sounded familiar.  
" What happened?" Yukito's voice asked.  
" Kid is sick. Has a fever. Came out of his room to ask for help." Answered the first voice. " Hurry on over. He's freaking out." And Syaoran was. The arm around his waist was noticable and he didn't like it.

  
  
" Good heavens!" Yukito cried as he looked at the boy. " He hasn't eaten anything!" He studied the vomit briefly before turning his attention back to the child. " Syaoran, take deep breaths. There you go. He's hot!" He felt his forehead. " What in the world happened?"

The interns shrugged. " Just found him. He stared at us and then collapsed. We have no idea."  
" Today's Monday, right?" Yukito asked.  
" Ano, hai?"  
" Hmph. Two more days." Yukito said thoughtfully. " Come on, up you go, oof, what a light bundle you are!" He lifted Syaoran up. Syaoran tensed, but he recognized this action as a harmless one, and obediently wrapped his little arms around the older boy's neck as the student carried him to the room.  
" Awfully small for his age." Someone mumbled.

" Let's see, right now it's this time. Looks like a kind of virus to me." Yukito looked up. " So antibiotics won't work. Eugh! Get him some pills to lower that fever of his, and some edible soup for heaven's sake!"

  
  
_" Ada?" Syaoran looked around in the darkness. " Mama?"  
Whispers. Syaoran huddled even more, looking around him.  
" ?" Syaoran blinked.  
" Syaoran."_

Syaoran turned around. " ?"  
" Jinyu."  
Syaoran tilted his head. Jinyu was no longer familiar. He was no longer golden jade. He was the little wolf. Because he was bad...

The angel appeared in all his pale glory, grey eyes bearing down upon him. Syaoran looked up and his little mouth opened silently in wonder. He knew Yue was there, but had never seen him. The creature before him was so divine...

So cold, so magnificent, so strange...

The poor boy instantly wanted to please the guardian before him, to win his approval. His eyes searched for a way. For a moment the guardian looked at him thoughtfully. Those eyes were so wise...

  
  
Yue regarded the child silently. The boy looked so fragile. How can anything like him be so innocent?

Syaoran took his silence as a harsh rebuke and rejection. He lowered his eyes in sorrow and despair. Yue went forward and Syaoran immediately tensed. He remembered the vague image of a shadow, flinging out a whip, advancing menacingly. Terrified, Syaoran backed away, but suddenly there was a wall behind him, blocking his escape. Syaoran watched as the powerful and dark angel advance, panic welling up in his stomach and tears beginning to flow freely.

Yue didn't stop, didn't hesitate. But when he was near enough he slowed, bent down, and wiped away a tear. Syaoran looked at him hopefully, and Yue allowed a slight hint of a smile to appear. Encouraged, Syaoran smiled, a charming, honest smile, and wrapped his arms around the tall guardian's neck, burying his face in his shoulder. Yue wrapped his arms protectively around Syaoran, and the two remained like that for a long time in the warm darkness...

  
  
" So the kid never spoke."  
" Never spoke."  
" And you didn't speak either."  
" Never spoke."  
" Then why the heck are you smiling like that, Yue?" Touya asked. " You're so freaking me out here!"  
" It's hard to keep one's innocence when one suffers so." Yue answered, still smiling. Kero just gaped at him. Yue ignored the stuffed animal. " And I've never been treated like that before. It just feels so warm."  
" It's called love." Touya answered, almost amazed. " Good lord, Yue, you're getting soft!"  
" Children can do that." Eriol answered quietly. " How did Syaoran do it?"

And to think, before that day it was Yukito who did it. 


	3. Chapter 3

Li Syaoran

Chapter 3

Sakura glanced at Syaoran briefly before turning away. She felt pity for him.  
_ He looks so sad._ She thought to herself.

Syaoran frowned to himself. He didn't like being pitied. Pity is a useless feeling. He saw how all the other children in the years before were respected, but he was brighter than all of them. They all pitied him. Sure, pity is a sign of heart. But it is not a sign of honor.  
" Konnichiwa. My name's Kinomoto Sakura, and this is Hiriingaziwa Eriol."

Syaoran suddenly snapped his head up at Eriol's name. He tilted his head at Eriol, looked at Sakura, then at Yukito. Something stumped him. He remained silent, still, with a puzzled look on his face. Then his eyes fell upon their keys.

Sakura cried out and grabbed hers. Eriol just looked at Syaoran solemnly. Syaoran didn't like the challenge, instinctively sensing danger and stared right back, trying to detect any type of threat in those eyes. Eriol looked away.

Yukito turned his head to Touya. _This is not working._ He mouthed.

And it wasn't. Syaoran never had friends because people found him strange. Now that he really was, he found the two of them strange. Why are they looking at him that way? He didn't know. In any case he didn't like it.

Sakura withdrew.  
_He's so freaky._ She thought to herself. _He just stands there staring at us as if we're...some kind of observation thing. He doesn't say a word._

Eriol sighed and decided to be blunt. " So we heard that you're Yukito's patient now, eh?"

Syaoran didn't like Eriol but didn't really say anything. He tilted his head.  
" Did Yukito torture you?" Eriol smiled. Yukito and Touya smiled as well, relieved that the mood was beginning to lighten up.

Syaoran suddenly looked like a very sane person. He glanced at Yukito briefly, then looked at Eriol. Golden eyes blinking, he cocked an eyebrow, but still said nothing for a minute.

" Yukito, what do you want us to do?" Eriol was getting annoyed. " If the kid won't talk, how are we going to get him to where he belongs?"

Wrong thing to say. Syaoran paled, his eyes wide. He looked at Yukito fearfully.

" Iie," Yukito soothed the boy. " We won't let your father touch you again, don't worry. It's alright." And only then did Syaoran relax slightly. He eyed Eriol dangerously, his glare threatening to melt the wise sorceror.

  
  
_ Good heavens._ Yue thought to himself. _If this goes on, we'll be going nowhere. One would think that Syaoran would say something to people his own age. The child behaves like a mute._

  
  
" There we go." Eriol sighed as he went out of the hospital. " That was the most nervewrecking thing I've ever encountered. How odd. He does behave strangely. But he doesn't behave like someone who has been beaten for seven years."  
" I know." Yukito answered.   
" It's thanks to Yuki. You should have seen him two weeks ago. Been raising hellery all over the place. Stealing, breaking, screaming and kicking."  
" Jinyu?"  
" Jinyu. You should have seen him two weeks ago." Touya shrugged. " He's much better now. Now at least he talks a little."  
" He talks?" Sakura asked.  
" So what do you plan to do?" Yukito asked as they got into Touya's car.  
" I plan to try to locate the thirteen idols." Eriol answered. " Or perhaps the deities, I don't know. I really doubt that he's a living idol, but the problem is, that demonstration really leaves no room for such thoughts."  
" I know." Sakura shivered, remembering how Syaoran revived the rat that had been slammed to pieces. " That was disgusting! How did he manage to do that without gagging?"  
" He's abused and insane, remember?" Touya pointed out. " Basically ate rats for the last seven years."

Sakura gagged.  
" You had to tell her that." Yukito scolded.  
" You mean he's actually telling the truth?" Kero asked.  
" Elgh!" Sakura repeated.  
" It's no wonder actually." Yukito answered pleasantly. " Syaoran's been abused. His father doesn't let him eat anything so he adopted this habit of stealing. So usually in garbage cans they don't have anything, and the good places are too heavily guarded, so Syaoran really has no choice but to eat cockroaches and rats-one reason why he's so sickly."  
" Alright, we heard enough." Eriol interrupted. The older boys fell quiet.

" Cards didn't work. He didn't like the cards."  
' Didn't like the keys either."  
" The only thing he likes is Yue."  
" Yue's not a thing."  
" Yes he is! People are things! But no matter." Sakura twirled her hair around her finger. " He doesn't like being touched, doesn't like being stared at, spoken to, in fact, he doesn't like anything except to be alone, or when Yukito's there. That's just wrong!"  
" What can you expect?" Eriol shrugged. " We did our best. We can't work our magic on him from there, so we'll do it here. The living idols are going to kill me if they found out I know their son's here and didn't tell them. Might as well start with calling them over; hopefully Syaoran would be able to recognize them."  
" Jinyu, you mean."  
" Doesn't matter."  
" Do you really think he'll recognize them?"  
" Doubt it."  
" Why?"  
" He was under the influence of a Death Idol for all of his lifetime. Or at least, all of his conscious lifetime. He's been tainted. First of all, I don't know if the Living Idols are going to accept him; their ways are strange. Second, I don't know if Syaoran's goign to accept them; _He's _strange, and third, I don't know how to contact them without frightening Syaoran. He can sense magic at work from several miles away, but all of it was linked to abuse. What can we do?"  
" Maybe send some kind of secret message. Have the Living Idols come to us without actually directly talking to them." Kero suggested. " You did that before."  
" True. How odd," Eriol thought for a minute. " Kerberus was never the one to give ideas. But no matter. We're going to have to ask the Living Idols if they heard anything about Syaoran and who the heck he is."  
" Right, that's the first step." Spinel, the black cat, agreed.

Eriol sighed. " How did I get myself into this?"

  
  
" How's he doing?" Yukito asked.  
" Would you like to know!" Exclaimed the student. " Been screaming and crying in his dream. Good lord, I don't know how you manage to quiet him down. We basically had to gag him up literally to shut him up. ' Course, that set him crazy. Been crying all night; it was heartbreaking, but what can we do? We students need sleep! And then the poor kid just fainted."

Yukito bit his lip. " Not a good approach at all." He said to the student. " Why did you gag him? You could have injected him with something."  
" Injected! Yukito-san, obviously you've never done it to him. He went crazy! It was worse than the gagging act! Obviously his father did something at night to paralyze him before he goes about with his ' napping' act. Syaoran was terrified of needles because of that. He's been raped every single night that way."

Yukito didn't say anything and opened the door. By this time Syaoran was free, basically huddled in the corner like he always did. But this time he was humming something, rocking himself, like one who's delirious.

" What is he humming?" The student whispered to Yukito.  
" Some sort of lullaby." Yukito whispered back. They listened closer.

" _Xiao bei qiao,  
Ta zai hai li piao ya piao..."_

" Good heavens." The student whispered. " Is that Canto?"  
" Sounds Mandarin."  
" You can tell?"  
" Just guessing. I heard some mandarin moms sing that song to their babies. Something about a seashell."

The student cocked an eyebrow.  
" Well? Are you going to call him awake?"  
  
Yukito paused. To his surprise he shook his head.  
" Let's wait a minute. I want to know why he's singing." _And record some notes for once._  
" To record something about him?" The student guessed. " Yukito, you are the special kid in that class, you baka. The only reason you were given Syaoran is to cure him. You don't need observations for wolfboy!"  
" Still, just in case." Yukito sighed. " I can't stand this. He has to snap out of it."  
" There ya go." The student encouraged. " I'll leave you two alone. He doesn't like anyone but you."

_ That could be a bad thing._ Yukito thought to himself.

  
  
" I can't believe you did that!" Tomoyo cried, her blue black hair falling along her shoulders in a frenzy. " How can you do that?"  
" Listen Tomoyo-chan, I didn't know, alright?" Sakura sighed. " It just happened. Now Jinyu is going to freak out. Yukito's going to be so mad at me."  
" What spell did you cast?"  
" The Dream Card."

  
  
Syaoran snapped his head up suddenly. Yukito blinked, and Syaoran cringed against the wall, tears forming and rolling down his cheeks. He squeezed his eyes shut and waited for the blow-

A gentle hand touched his cheek, holding his shoulders, wiping away the tears. Syaoran was confused. Harsh beatings usually accompanied with magic.

" Syaoran, what's wrong?" There was a hint of anger. Syaoran didn't say anything. He curled up more tightly.

" Urgh!" Yukito stood up. Syaoran whimpered. _I'm sorry!_

There was a soft sigh. Someone bent down again.  
" Syaoran, it's me Yukito, remember? You don't have to be afraid of me."

Syaoran slowly looked up. The old fear lingered, and he avoided looking at Yukito in the eye. A gentle hand tipped his chin up and his eyes followed.

Yukito looked sad.

_Is it my fault?_

  
Syaoran began to cry. It was a childish thing to do, crying when he was afraid, when he was scared, but Syaoran had no choice. He was never given the chance to grow. He cried because he was afraid, and he was tired of being afraid. He cried because he was sad and tired of being sad. 

Arms circled him and Syaoran allowed it.   
" Don't cry little one." said a voice softly. " Don't cry."

But Syaoran continued to cry. He gradually did quiet down. The arms felt soothing. The heart beated steadily, like a rhythmic lullaby. He listened.

B-beat.

B-beat.

He suddenly clutched at Yukito's sweater, listening. There was something about that heart. It sparked a long forgotten memory.

B-beat.

B-beat.

There was a faint image of someone dark. Someone large and warm. Milk. Bright light. Thousands of voices.

" _Mama..._"

How long has it been since he last saw his mother? He never seen her really. But he knew he had one. Otherwise, how did he come to be? But the heart. The heart. He heard fondness in that heart. It was golden. It was...

  
  
Professor Wakatoshi peered into the room. Yukito looked up.  
_What in the world is he doing?_ The professor mouthed.

Yukito shook his head, shrugging. _He likes it. What can I do?_  
_How long?  
For what?  
You been here.  
Two minutes?_

Professor nodded, frowning. Yukito was talented. She would have to persuade the directors to encourage him into this field. They need someone like him. However, there was one tiny problem.

_ Don't get too close to him._

Yukito nodded. But he wasn't quite sure.

  
  



	4. Chapter 4

Li Syaoran

Chapter 4

" Li Yelan, Li Fuutie, Li Feimei, Li Shiefa, fourth sister dead. So there should have been fourteen living idols. Then you have Takota Rao, X-Xiang Kei, Hino Miaka, ano...ugh! These things are hard to read." Eriol squinted.

Sakura sat still and silent, watching her friend with Tomoyo beside her.  
" Li Yelan was undoubtedly the mother of Jinyu." Eriol said after a moment.  
" How to contact her?" Sakura asked.

For a long time Eriol didn't answer, staring thoughtfully at the ancient inscriptions.

  
  
_Syaoran looked about him. There were so many flowers! So much grass! The air smelled fresh and fragrant. He tilted his head. The sun was shining. Look, there is a doe and her fawns! Kawaii!_

Syaoran laughed happily. The doe looked up at him, not at all disturbed. He reached over and petted a fawn. The fawn arched its neck and encouraged him. Syaoran laughed. This place is so cool!

" Why is the kid laughing?" Asked a student.   
" Don't know. Been running around the place laughing. What do you think? He's in one of those little worlds again. Doesn't know that he's in the hospital, no doubt. Weird. That laughter sounds so happy. What could he possibly be seeing?"  
" Maybe thousands of lollipops?"  
" Lollipops? The kid likes chocolate. Wait a minute, why would he be petting a piece of chocolate? He's petting the table, you see there?"  
" Probably some kind of dog."  
" The kid wants a dog?"  
" Or a cat. I'm not sure. How odd." The student untied her hair to rebraid it. " At least he's a lot quieter now. Doesn't get into fights. Maybe soon enough we can move him to the B room."  
" Oh dear! He's going into the lab again." The student hurried over.  
" Now now kid, don't go in there, otherwise you'll get into trouble."

_ Syaoran looked up. A black shadow covered the sun, grabbing his shoulders tightly. It began to hurt. The sun moved slightly, shedding its rays on the man's face-_

" Ah!" Syaoran cried, retreating. The student blinked.   
" Kuso..."

Syaoran began running. His father didn't pursue, but he couldn't be sure. He bumped into someone and fell backwards on his side. Syaoran looked up. The image of the forest cleared. He was at the hospital. It was a nurse.

" You poor thing!" Said the woman gently, helping him up. " Got into one of those illusions again, hm? Come now, let's get you to your room."

Syaoran stared at the nurse for a minute, then reluctantly let her lead him back to the room. Where was Yue? He couldn't locate him. He was so confused.

Suddenly, he began to panic. Where was Yue? Why isn't he here? Syaoran released a soft sob, followed by a whimper.  
" Aw, don't cry little one, it's alright-Jatoushi! He's starting to panic!"

Syaoran let out a shriek and started to run away from the nurse. He wanted Yukito, wanted the angel to protect him. Where were they? Where is Yukito?  
He began sobbing uncontrollably, whirling around trying to find his guardian.

  
  
Professor Wakatoshi looked up worriedly as the boy knocked over a sharp blade and it cut right on his stomach. She sprang to her feet as the child fell backwards, blade red with his blood. He began screaming in pain and fear. The students quickly rushed to his aid, but he began kicking and hitting with his fists and legs.

" Someone call Tsukishiro!" She ordered. A student hurriedly pulled out his cellphone and began to search. 

  
  
" Touya! I need to borrow your car." Yukito rushed back.  
" Why?"  
" Syaoran!"

That was all it took. Touya tossed Yukito the keys and Yukito ran out the door. As soon as he reached the hospital Yukito parked the car and rushed in. Syaoran was in the room, weeping like mad. His stomach was red and bleeding. There was a piece of metal in it.

" What happened?" Yukito asked.  
" Kid went crazy. Ran all over the place. Some baka left a surgery knife out on the counter and the kid knocked it on himself."  
" How could a metal break?"  
" Kid has muscles of iron? I don't know." The student answered. " Now we're trying to inject him with tranquillizers, but you know how he is. We can't do anything until we injected him, but he wouldn't cooperate. We need your help here."

The child was restrained at his wrists and ankles and was sobbing continuously. Yukito sighed, then waved the nurses back. He held the child's face gently.  
" Jinyu, it's me. Remember me?" He tried to smile. The boy quieted immediately, staring at him. Blood trickled out of his mouth but his stare was unwavering.  
" Syaoran, do you trust me? Just nod."

Syaoran nodded, accompanied by a gurgle.  
" You know I won't do anything to hurt you."

A gurgle of blood. 

Yukito winced. He took the needle and pressed it to Syaoran's arm. He looked into Syaoran's eyes for a minute.

The young child paled, stiffening. His wild eyes flicked at him pleadingly. Yukito smiled reassuringly.  
" Just relax." He told the boy. " This will not hurt a lot."

Reluctantly, Syaoran relaxed. Yukito would not hurt him. He promised him that. Yukito would not do anything bad. Yukito is a nice person. Yukito is nice. Yukito is good. Yukito is-

  
  
Yukito injected the tranquillizer quickly and pulled the needle away. Syaoran resisted the drug for a moment, then his eyes dulled. His eyelids drooped and fell, and the child sighed before he fell asleep.

  
  
" What kind of baka would leave a surgery knife hanging around in this part of the hospital?" Yukito seethed. " Especially since all the patients are too delirious or insane to care for danger!"  
" Calm down Yukito." Touya sighed. " The kid's alright now. Sure, he's going to be restrained until he stops hallucinating, but he's going to survive this. The professor suggested you take him home."  
" Wait a minute. I'm a student. Since when did I become a doctor?"  
" Since you trained the wolf."

Yukito blinked. " ?????"

  
  
_" You idiot!" Cried the tall man, his face black with fury. Syaoran huddled near the corner, terrified. " You are going to pay for that!"_

Fwap! Syaoran screamed, as the belt cut into his stomach. A rough hand seized his shirt and threw him on the bed. Syaoran wailed in despair. This can't be happening again!

A bitter mouth covered his own and Syaoran felt himself gagging and suffocating. Suddenly there was a freezing cold, all over his body. Then pain, red hot pain, like the burning of lava. It lasted all eternity. His screams rang out, high pitched and agonized.

Suddenly he was thrown into water. A hand held his head down and he began to struggle, trying to get out. The water was cold. He opened his eyes and saw the whites of the bathtub. Bubbles escaped from his mouth and slowly the world began to darken...

" You are not meant to be anything, you little brat." This time, they were in the living room. Syaoran was bleeding, his head was bleeding, his side was bleeding. He was crying. " You were not anything. Just a little monkey. You are despised. You are a lowly peasant. You're worse than one of those Indian Untouchables. You ain't meant to even be! And now you'll be punished for having dared come to this world!"

Something was injected into his arm. Syaoran's eyes widened in fear. It was the paralyzing drug! The effects were immediate. Syaoran couldn't move as the man pounded into him. Magical spells wove across him, drawing blood and flesh. Syaoran screamed-

" Jinyu!"

Syaoran blinked, opening his eyes. It was white. Everything was white.  
" Jinyu, are you alright?" Something wiped at his cheeks. There were tears there.  
" It's just a dream little one." 

Syaoran took a shaky breath. His throat felt sore and dry. He was having the hiccups. He moved his arm.

It wouldn't budge.

Panic filled him. He lifted his eyes and saw Yukito, dressed in his lab coat. His eyes begged for a reassuring explanation.  
" We had to restrain you so you won't get hurt." Yukito answered. " In one of your fits. Do you want me to loosen it a little?"

Without waiting for him to answer, Yukito loosened the cloth. Syaoran relaxed as Yukito tucked in the covers more firmly.  
" There you go." He said gently. " It was only a nightmare. Your father will not hurt you again."

Syaoran blinked as his stomach grumbled. Yukito chuckled.  
" I'll be done in twenty minutes. I have to get back to class. Wait for me here, alright? I'll be right back. You won't have to eat the hospital food; we'll go out. I'll buy you Chinese food. Get some meat into your bones. Or maybe I can cook something for you-my house is only fifteen minutes away. So wait here, alright?"

Syaoran nodded, and Yukito stood up, closed the door. Syaoran looked at the clock. Twenty more minutes...

Twenty is so long...

  
  
" Kuso."  
" What's wrong?" Tomoyo asked.  
" What's wrong?" Eriol looked at Sakura, then at Tomoyo. " I couldn't contact the Living Idols. And what's worse, the Dead Idols are here!"

  
  
Yue flinched. Syaoran blinked, puzzled at why the guardian transformed so suddenly.  
" Syaoran, come here." The moon angel ordered. Syaoran, always obedient, got up from his chair and ran over. Yue lifted Syaoran, much to the child's surprise, and went upstairs into the attic.

Cliaghk!

Syaoran whimpered softly. Yue quieted him down. An explosion.

" Kid ain't here."  
" You baka. Kid's aura's here alright. Where is that little gaki?"  
" Right above us, you baka."

Yue held the boy close and quietly opened a window. There were footsteps on the stairs. They were going to find them, if they remained where they were.

Syaoran gasped as they were free. Yue spread his wings and flapped them hard, and soon they were high above everything else. Syaoran looked down, amazed, then started laughing, happy and excited, with all fear forgotten. Yue turned the boy around so his back was pressed to his chest. Syaoran spread his arms wide, pretending he was flying, and Yue had to smile. It looked like Syaoran forgot everything now.

A tinge of worry gnawed at him. _Are idols able to fly?_

At this thought, Yue flew faster, in one direction. Syaoran suddenly felt cold, and the guardian wrapped his arms around the child to keep him warm. He had to get to Touya, fast.

A ray shot from behind. Yue was unbalanced, and suddenly they were falling down straight for the ground, to their deaths. 


	5. Chapter 5

Li Syaoran

Chapter 5

A groan.

Yue opened his eyes.

" Hey buddy," Kero was hovering overhead. " Are you alright?"

Yue blinked, sitting up slowly. " What happened?"  
" You were attacked by the Death Idols." Eriol answered. " Luckily we came. If it hadn't been for Miaka you would have been dead."

" Miaka?"  
" Ohayo." Said a woman. Her face was sweet and young, skin as smooth as ivory with a tinge of pink at the cheeks. She had brown hair and clear brown eyes, with a mysterious flicker of green, and she wore a long dark grey robe laced with purple and black silk.

" Yue, this is Hino Miaka. She's one of the Living Idols, and she's not Syaoran's mother, unfortunately, because Li Yelan doesn't know her son is here."  
" Syaoran? Is he alright?"  
" Oh, fine, thanks to Miaka, and you of course." Eriol answered pleasantly. " If you haven't given them such a hard time like you did Syaoran would have been captured by now, and we would never have had the time to rescue you two. Unfortunately though, the Dead Idols are onto Sakura now, but that shouldn't be much of a problem."  
" Gomen nasai." Yue mumbled. His head hurt.

Touya appeared.

" Oh, you're awake. I was just getting worried about you. Don't move too much, kind of sprained that wing of yours a little."

Yue was too groggy to be offended or humiliated.

" Kid's stomach looks a lot better." Touya was saying. " Can even take the bandages off in a few days. Must be Idol magic." He chuckled. " Idol. Idle. Get it?"  
" Ugh, the people are going to kill me for this."  
" Hey, where do you think you are?" Sakura asked. Yue looked around.  
" What am I doing in a hospital?"  
" Wake up, Yue." Kero snapped harshly. " You fainted. That flight of yours isn't secret you know. Everyone saw it. What's worse, you went from Yue to Yukito to Yue and back, so everyone knows you're Yukito."

Yue froze. " Nani?"  
" Hai." Sakura said solemnly. " But at least...at least you're excused."

Yue looked at Sakura almost sorely. Failing psychiatry and getting suspended is a lot better then everyone chasing you for who you are...

  
  
Yukito sighed.  
" How's he doing." It's a question he had asked every time he finished with his classes, or hadn't begun them yet, first checking on the child that had depended on him so much.  
" Stomach's all better." Muttered the student. " Mind's not. Started drawing since I don't know when. While you were at the other room, kid just found paper and pencil out of nowhere. Kept on drawing. We couldn't really see what he was doing really, what the pictures were, I mean, but I don't suppose..." He didn't finish, opening the door for Yukito to enter.

What he saw made him freeze.

There were pictures, all drawn roughly in pencil, but well drawn, with the hands of a skilled artist. Puppies, gathered in a straw basket, all crying, tears skillfully drawn. Elephants, a mother elephant, father elephant, baby one, all crying, tears dropping down onto the ground. A fawn, curled up, as if sleeping, but there was a gaping wound at its side, bleeding dark blood. Two wolves, nuzzling a newborn pup, tears rolling down their cheeks, for the pup was a still born.

Syaoran took no notice of Yukito. He was still drawing. Yukito peered at it. It was a flower, the remains of it, scattered in a flowing river that ran quietly downstream. Petals littered the surface as the stem was torn in two, and leaves scattered onto the bank.

Yukito silently marveled at Syaoran's talent, but also felt deep dread. He silently took some of the drawings and put it in his folder, to show the professor later that day.

  
  
" Everything's crying. Does are crying, horses are crying, lions are crying. Everything is crying. And the kid probably doesn't even know what he did."

Professor Wakatoshi studied the drawings in silence or a while.  
" This is a good observation, Yukito." She mused quietly. " What do you think may be the cause of this?"

Yukito thought for a moment. " He's probably lonely. This picture shows a lion cub nuzzling its mother, so maybe he wants his mother, somehow."  
" Maybe. But I don't think that these drawings really reflect anything." Professor Wakatoshi answered. " Each picture shows different things, and some even contradict. Most likely it's the tears, which shows that Jin Yu is depressed."

Yukito took his time allowing the information to sink in.

" But this is very good though, right?" Yukito asked. " I mean, this kind of shows that Syaoran is beginning to ask for help now. He's acknowledging the fact, not just running around screaming and being afraid of people. He's stating that he needs help."  
" Hai, and accepting it as well. This is a good development." Professor Wakatoshi stood up. " Keep working with him, but remember, don't get too close to him. If Jin Yu's sanity begins to depend on your presence, things might not turn out so well."

  
  
" So I was there, holding the vacuum," The female student was saying, " And then the baby came out, along with the blood. The instructor was yelling at me, saying, " Hurry up!" But good heavens!"  
" Good thing I didn't do that. I never signed up for that course." Touya hiccuped. " Shoot. Which finger was it?"  
" The fourth, I think. I wasn't paying attention."  
Touya pressed down on his right fourth finger and waited.

No hiccups.

No hiccups.

" Hic!"  
" Ah well."  
" Hmph!"

" So, how's our psychiatrist?" Asked the student. " You heard about the midwife. I heard Syaoran's a lot better now. Too much better."  
" Hai, it's weird." Touya agreed. " Just several weeks ago he went kicking and screaming and raising chaos. Now he's just very quiet and not doing anything, not sleeping, not eating, not drinking. It's like he's quietly killing himself. Maybe you shouldn't have taken the professor's suggestion."

Yukito frowned. " She's right though." He replied slowly. " I mean, I can't be there for him all the time. He has to learn how to be independent."  
" Well, right now he thinks you're rejecting him, no doubt."  
" Maybe." Yukito sighed. " Actually, I guess I kind of ignored him a little, too many tests."  
  
Touya snorted in disapproval. " The Living Idols aren't going to like that excuse."  
" Never said they would."

  
  
Syaoran looked out from the bushes. The hospital was bright, the city lights turned on. The security guard hadn't noticed that he had slipped out, quiet and nimble as shadows are. Syaoran smiled, happy. He finally got out. He wanted to find Yue.

It was around midnight. Outside there were some cars, traffic lights, and several people wandering outside. Syaoran blinked, rushing across the street. Yue's aura was...that way.

Running quickly, he darted towards the neighborhood. It was quiet now. One car rolled past, and then there was nothing. All of the lights were turned off, so it was dark, dark as the sky. Syaoran tilted his head again, something he did very often when he was curious, his right ear listening for any kind of movement. Detecting none, very much relieved, he ran in that direction.

BBBBBEeeeeeeeee!

Syaoran jumped out of the way as a car brushed past. His heart beating rapidly, Syaoran began to panic. The car rolled on, the driver shouting curses at him. Syaoran began to run. He ran for what seemed like forever, until-

The house looked eerie under the shroud of darkness. Everything was gray; there was hardly any color at all. On the second floor to the left the window was bright, with red curtains showing that someone was still up. Syaoran looked at the sky. There was no moon. He looked at the bell.

Pressing once, Syaoran jumped as he heard the faint sound of bells in the house, a striking melody. There was a moment's hesitation, then a sound of footsteps on the stairs. 

By now the child was calmer but very anxious. If Yukito really didn't like him anymore, this will be proof-

" Syaoran, what are you doing out here this late? Get in here. Good heavens, do you know what the weather like? It's freezing out there, even if it's March. Come on, how did you get out?" Yukito gathered the boy into his arms and closed the door. Syaoran just clung on and wouldn't let go.

" No wonder there was that horn." Yukito quickly led Syaoran inside. Inside was warm. Inside was safe. The damage done by the idols were all absent. It was a home. " You should be sleeping now! You're nine years old, and to think, staying up this late! But come. I know you're tired; it's a long way here from the hospital. We'll get you back in the morning."

Morning was a long time. Syaoran nodded, just holding on to Yukito's legs. Yukito pried him off. Syaoran blinked, tears welling up in his eyes, but Yukito gathered the boy and embraced him tenderly. Only then did Syaoran relax.

" Come along, get to bed. I don't know how you found this place! I was driving before!" Yukito tucked in the covers. Syaoran closed his eyes.

  
  
Sighing, Yukito turned around, turning off the lights and shutting the door quietly behind him. He searched for the phone and dialed.

" Moshi moshi?" A tired voice answered.  
" Touya!"  
" Yuki! Why are you calling this late?" There was a yawn. " You're lucky I'm studying."  
" I was studying too, until the kid came over."

There was a long silence.

" Nani?!"  
" Hai! The kid came over, in his pajamas, and he didn't even shiver! Good heavens, I don't know what to do with him?"  
" He's insane, remember." Touya's voice answered flatly. " What can you do, anyway."

Yukito looked down and was silent for a long moment before looking up into Touya's eyes.  
" I don't think the kid is insane in the way you think, Touya-san."  
" Huh?" Touya blinked. " Why?"  
" I think he's just scared." Yukito's voice was a whisper. " He's afraid of his father and everyone else. The only person he trusts is me. And Yue."  
" Right?"  
" So that was why he looked for me all the time." Yukito continued. " He wants comfort."

Touya looked at Yukito.

" You bonded with him."  
" That's what doctors are supposed to do, Touya." Yukito stood up. " I mean, patients need comfort too. You can't just sit there talking to them as if they're they're rats, I mean, and you're just doing this for money!"  
  
Touya looked at Yukito.  
" I'm not saying that you're not supposed to do that, Yukito." He said quietly. " It's just an observation. I wonder what are you going to do when his mother claims him and he leaves."

At this Yukito froze.

" Nani?"  
" Oh Yue, please don't tell me you're having this fantasy about adopting him or something! The Living Idols live somewhere, you know?" Touya sighed sadly. " Li Yelan wouldn't be too happy if you stole her son away from her, and when she claims him back he's going to go with the rest of the Living Idols. Up to wherever they belong."

Yukito felt his heart skip a beat and his vision became blurry. Without a word he left the room, Touya staring solemnly at him. 


	6. Chapter 6

Li Syaoran

Chapter 6

" Threw over a bottle of syringe, spoiled alcohol, totally ruined the container of calcium chloride and exposed the arm."  
" The actual arm?"  
" Hai, the human arm we were supposed to study. The exact same one that Natashi waved " Hi" with."  
" Didn't he cring at that?"  
" Kid's nuts, remember?"

Yukito gritted his teeth. He was tired of hearing that phrase. Li Syaoran was _not_ an animal!

" You baka." Said another student. " It wasn't the kid who did it. It was another one. Touya's patient."  
" Touya's? Touya's patient was a good one, I thought. What was her name? Marka. Iie, wait, it was-"  
" I need to find Syaoran. There's something going on, where is he?" Yukito asked.  
" Well," Said the first student, " If he didn't wreck those things he should be in that private custody room."  
" He's still in private custody?" Yukito asked unhappily. " He should have been released by now."  
" Well, after he ran after you that night, and it was quite an amusing and touching thing to think of! They decided he is not ready."  
" Bastards." Yukito muttered as he entered the room.

  
  
Syaoran was quiet.

Too quiet.

Yukito tried to speak again but found he lost his voice. The boy remained huddled in the corner, not speaking, not listening, not seeing.

Tears were rolling down his cheeks.

He was weeping.

Yukito sighed and gathered the depressed child into his arms.

" Tell me, Jinyu, what's wrong? You know you can tell me anything."

But this time there was something seriously wrong. For no matter how much Yukito tried, Syaoran wouldn't talk to him, would not speak of why he was so quiet, so sad, and so silent.

And that scared him more than anything.

  
  
" Child wouldn't talk." Yue sat down gracefully. " He wouldn't speak. I don't know what to do."  
" What do you suppose happened?" Eriol asked. Touya, Sakura and her friend Tomoyo sat down beside him.  
" I, I don't know." Yue sounded almost scared. " I didn't do anything, just brought him back to the hospital, and then he just-just-this never happened before."  
" Tell me," Touya began. " Did he act any different when you were driving him to the hospital?"  
" He was unhappy." Yue answered. " But he didn't pull back or anything."  
" Maybe he felt betrayed." Eriol answered. " After all, he thought of you as a friend. And you brought him back to the place he hates."

Yue was silent.

" What if he's sick?" Sakura suddenly spoke.

  
  
" Temperature's way too high." Said Yoko. " Give me a towel and soak it in cold water." 

Syaoran continued crying. He writhed.  
" Relax, little one." Yoko said kindly. " You have a high fever, We're trying to get it down, so relax."  
" Yue..." Syaoran moaned, twisting his body and trembling.  
" Yue will be here." Yoko assured him, and quickly nodded at one of the nurses to call.

" Interesting how he shows that he's in trouble." Said one of the interns. " He goes all quiet so people would pay more attention to him. Of course, that didn't really prevent the pneumonia."  
" How long?" Yoko asked.  
" Twenty minutes." The nurse answered. Yoko nodded.  
" Give me some rhino horn powder and the fish smelling leaf..."

  
  
" Believe me." Yukito sighed. " The kid is not going to drink it unless you put a lot of sugar. Get some chocolate flavoring or something-ah, remember that he's a kid, and he doesn't really have a logical reasoning sense. Just put a lot of sugar! I don't care if he gets diabetes! And besides, just once wouldn't do much. Put a lot of sugar, or perhaps-iie, how about this, Less concentration. I know it will make him feel bloated. He'll drink five a day. You want less sugar for him? Less concentration!"

And that was really how they managed to make poor Jinyu drink the bitter medicine. Yukito first tested it to make sure it's cool and sweet enough, and then he gave it to Syaoran.

  
  
" I don't get it. Why don't you just give him antibiotics?"  
" He's allergic to them."  
" ...?????????"  
" How awful!" One of the interns muttered. " Allergic to antiobiotics! That means he's going to have oriental treatment for the rest of his life! What about aspirin?"  
" He never tried." Yoko sat down.  
" Ugh!" Touya muttered. " For the kid I lost some of my homework. I have a test tomorrow! Five tests, in fact!"  
" Go on with your five tests." Yukito answered bitterly. " Li Syaoran counts for fifty percent of my grade in psychology. I don't know why I bothered to take that crap in the first place, but I don't think I regret it just yet. Go on with your five tests! Your Mariko counts for fifty percent of your grade too, and if you fail, well, you'll have to take it again next year."

Touya realized that he made Yukito angry and decided to stay quiet.  
" Gomen." He whispered. " I didn't mean it that way."  
" And plus, Jinyu has to go home." Yukito stood up. " We can't have Li Yelan see him like this, all mad and nuts!"

Riiing!

" Moshi moshi?" Touya said into the phone. There was a long moment of silence.

  
  
Syaoran lay in delirium for what seemed like forever. The room was empty and silent.

He didn't bother opening his eyes. Opening his eyes would mean he's awake. Opening his eyes would mean he would have to face some kind of harsh reality.

There was a swish, and a silence. Syaoran remained unmoving. But his little heart skipped a beat in apprehension. Someone was here. But how did they get in without opening the door?  
" Xiaodi sheng bing le."  
" Bu qi guai ya! Zher dier hao zang ah!"

Syaoran thought for a moment. Mandarin. That was Mandarin Chinese. And plus, it was Beijing accent. Only Beijing speakers add that " er" at the end of words.  
" Ei yo!" He stiffened when a warm hand felt his forehead, although the hand felt cold.  
" Hao gao ah!" He heard, although he had no idea what was being said. Whimpering, he withdrew a little.  
" Don't be scared." He heard the same voice say in Cantonese. " We won't hurt you."

His mind registered the words slowly. Reluctantly he opened his eyes.

At first everything had a tint of green to them. The greenish white ceilings. The green walls. Even the skin had a tint of green. But he froze and nearly gaped in awe. For above him were the faces of two most beautiful maidens. He blinked curiously. Are they angels?

This time when the woman touched his forehead again he felt safer. He wanted them to stay. They must be one of the angels that Father was always cursing. They look so nice and gentle. They wouldn't hurt him. They said so.  
" Mama bu hui gao xing da."  
" Shei guan ne? Hai zi gen na ge wang ba dan zhu le shi duo nian la! Shei de nao zi dou hui..."

He heard a sigh. Slowly he began to understand.  
" Ke lian de hai zi." He heard. " Poor child."  
" Nnnnnnnn." Syaoran uttered before he could stop himself. He always uttered that when he didn't want someone to leave.

The two women seemed to pick up on that. " Aww, little brother doesn't want us to go. But the nurses are coming. Don't worry, we'll come back right after they leave."

Before Syaoran could protest, they disappeared, leaving a very bewildered boy.

  
The nurses were quick to get out of there. Syaoran mumbled incoherent phrases and it scared them. Soon the two women came back again.   
" See, we told you." Said one.

Syaoran opened his eyes to see the same angels again. One of them lifted his head up.  
" Here, drink this. This will help you heal."

Syaoran parted his lips obediently and drank the sweet tasting soup. He closed his eyes contentedly.

The two sisters stayed with him all night.

  
  
" They saw two women appear out of nowhere." Touya explained. " And then they disappeared. They didn't watch after that."

Yukito was silent for a moment. " Must be the immortals." He answered, and deep down his heart sank. " They're coming to take him home." 


	7. Chapter 7

Li Syaoran

Chapter 7

" You look better today." Yukito smiled at Syaoran and ruffled the boy's hair. " What happened? That was quite a recovery!"  
" There were angels..."

Yukito blinked. Syaoran talked!

" There were angels," Syaoran was excited, " And they were talking in Mandarin, and, and, they went away when the women came. When the women left, they came back, and gave me something to drink. It tasted really good! Can you make it?"

Yukito was too busy staring at Syaoran to really answer. Syaoran can talk in whole sentences-not just whole sentences, whole, normal sentences.

" You're a great cook," Syaoran was excited. " You know how to do it, right? I mean, it's not hard for you. It tastes sweet, much better then the food around here, and, and, and-"  
" Alright, alright, I'll try to make something like that." Yukito laughed. _The professor would be ecstatic. So will his mom..._

" Come on, let's take you out." Yukito stood up and took the child's hand. " Touya!" He called. " Tell the professor that I'm taking the kid to the zoo. Take my labcoat." He handed his coat over. Syaoran waited.

  
  
" What's in the zoo?" Syaoran asked excitedly. " Are there elephants?"  
" Hai."  
" Monkeys?"  
" Hai."  
" Zebras? Giraffes? Any deer? I love deer! Are there wolves?"  
" Hai, hai, hai, and hai." Yukito laughed.  
" Peanuts!" Syaoran cried, jumping up and down. " Roasted peanuts! One of the people at the hospital say that those peanuts are-oh can I have some? Please please please please please?"

Yukito was so happy he couldn't refuse anything. He bought Syaoran a bag of peanuts and Syaoran began munching on it. They entered the zoo and Syaoran immediately ran to one of the elephant sections. Yukito watched as the child held out a peanut and the elephant took it.

  
  
The child basically ran around. He suddenly became a bundle of energy. Yukito smiled at the boy and followed, laughing behind. He felt sad too. Syaoran never saw a zoo before, and had never been in one. The child was so excited he was basically jumping up and down.

Of course, that led to a lot of exhaustion.

  
  
" Oh, he's in the zoo...with Yukito." Touya was a little cowed by that woman. Not that Yelan was big...she just makes an imposing figure.

Hai...

" Did you hear what happened this morning?" One of the interns walked down the hall. " The kid actually spoke in complete sentences, and those sentences actually made sense!"  
" Hai, remember how he use to hallucinate?" The other intern answered.  
" They say Yukito took him to the zoo. The kid was practically jumping up and down in excitement. Doubtless he was never in a zoo before."  
" Great improvement." The other intern laughed. Yelan watched them go.  
" Uh...you can wait around here," Touya was really uncomfortable. " Though the food's not exceptional here. They're going to be a while, and I don't think it would make Syaoran very happy if you bust in on the zoo trip because he...yeah, what they said."

Yelan looked at Touya. Touya sighed.

" Nani," He was annoyed. " I'm not some lunatic. I know what I'm saying. I don't care if you're the Living Idol. I'm the medical student here in this mortal realm. Don't look at me as if I'm the kid's father."

Yelan smiled. " Gomen." She answered. " I don't mean to make you feel that way, Kinomoto-san. It's just that his father might come back and I want to take him home as soon as possible."  
" Yeah, um, if he comes back, and he attacks Sakura..."  
" We'll take care of him." The Living Idol smiled. " Where's Miaka?"  
" No idea. Probably with Eriol."

In a flash, Yelan was gone.

  
  
" I like the horses!" The child was saying. " The horse was nosing me as if I were its master! It even wanted me to ride him, of course, there was no room to ride on, but still, I like the horses! And the monkeys were funny!"

Yukito had bought the boy some cotton candy and Syaoran was munching on it while he talked.

" And did you see when the elephant spanked the fat guy?" Syaoran was hopping up and down and giggling. " The guy was bawling like a dog!" More giggles. " Hic!"  
" Whoa, now you got the hiccups." Yukito patted the boy's back. " I would try to press on the fourth finger, but of course, as Touya had demonstrated several days ago, it doesn't work."  
" Hic!"  
" Whoa, don't choke."  
" Hiccer! Hic! Hic!"

Yukito laughed.

  
  
" Darn, the Death Idols are here somewhere," Sakura looked around. " Where's Syaoran?"

Miaka blinked. " Over there." She pointed. " Somewhere over there. We have to get to them fast."  
" Where's Kei?"  
" Kei's lazy. Always eating. Like Kero. Kei! Kei!" Miaka yelled. A man appeared before her, in robes.  
" What?"  
" Death Idols, Syaoran and Yukito alone, that equals?" Miaka shook her head. " Come on, we have to get to them. I'm not sure how many Deaths are there, but they seem quite powerful."  
" One of them's his dad." Kei followed.  
" Hoeeee?!"

  
  
Yukito stopped. Syaoran blinked, then froze as well. The two of them were silent for some time, before Yukito took Syaoran's hand.

" Come on, your sisters and mother are that way." Yukito led the child towards the right. Jinyu followed, looking over his shoulder from time to time.   
" It's okay Syaoran." Yukito began to hurry. _How to cover up Syaoran's aura?_

  
  
" Cover up his aura!" Miaka said to Kei. " That way it would be harder for those bastards to find him."  
" Why don't you?"  
" I'm busy covering up ours! Hurry up. If we lose Jinyu again Yelan's going to kill us."  
" There." Kei wove his fingers in the air. " That settled. But now we can't find him."  
" We'll look for him the mortal way." Miaka looked down at Sakura. " Take out your cards, darling, we're in for a battle this time."

  
  
" Where are we going?" Syaoran panted, trying his best to keep up with Yukito. " Where are we going, Yukito-san?"  
" To your mother. They're waiting for you."  
" Mama?" Syaoran blinked. " She's here? She's here for me?" The little face brightened and a smile lit up his face.  
" Hai." Yukito smiled back, despite going even faster. " Just a little further-"  
" Jinyu!"

Yukito stopped. Syaoran stopped as well. Before the child's eyes stood four gorgeous maidens, all as lovely and fair as angels. Two of them he recognized from his delirium and he wondered if they were here to protect him again.

" Come, my child!" Yelan held out her arms. Without hesitation Syaoran ran to her as a toddler runs to his mother. Yelan picked the frail child up and whirled around.

" Flee, guardian!" She ordered. " The Death Idols will have your head!"

  
Yue went airborne, just as Miaka, Kei, Sakura and Eriol arrived to where Yelan and the sisters stood. Something hit the wall under Yue. Yue whirled around and shot an arrow. Syaoran clung on to his mother's neck, whimpering.

Sakura summoned her staff and released Windy. Syaoran stared as the spirit rose into the air and darted towards the Death Idols. Miaka released something that was carried in that wind and a Death Idol yelled.

" Yue!" Syaoran cried, and everyone else looked up to find the guardian beginning to fall.  
" Yue!" Kerberus transformed into his true self and ran forward to cushion the fall. 

Something sent the Death idols back. Syaoran's father stared at him in disbelief as the child's eyes glowed bright gold. Syaoran's body was straight and erect, his arm was held above his head and his palm facing into his head.

" He knows already?!" One of the idols shouted. Yelan smirked.   
" My son is bright." She said softly. There were gasps and cries and Sakura looked around. For the first time the children realized that they were being watched. Yue sat up slowly, wondering what made him fall all of the sudden.

" Zou!" Yelan commanded, and the living idols whirled around as one. There was a huge flash, and swirls of darkness, and all the mortals and guardians couldn't tell what happened because they all passed out. 


End file.
